Brainchild of the brilliant Ford Mustang tuner and racing team impresario Steve Saleen, the S7 was as near as any American manufacturer has come in recent years to a street-legal race car. That was, essentially, what it was: a homologation special, with a bespoke chassis purpose-built for competition, and compete it did. The S7R, as it was known on the circuit, earned the respect of some of motorsports’ most seasoned professionals, achieving impressive class wins at both the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The roadgoing S7 was no less startling. With a lightweight carbon-fiber body and potent 7.0-liter V-8, based upon Ford’s small-block Windsor engine, performance was otherworldly by early-2000s standards and remains so today: 0-60 was possible in just 3.3 seconds, on the way to an estimated top speed of 220 mph.

While Saleen did not release official production figures for the S7, research indicates that about 78 total units, in both racing and street specification, were produced. They became prestige objects almost as soon as they were released, figuring into the collections of prominent enthusiasts worldwide. It was no surprise that Angus Mitchell would eventually acquire one for the select fleet of performance machines within his renowned “Toybox.”

The example offered here is surely among the most significant roadgoing S7s, as it was purchased directly from Steve Saleen and features the Competition Package. Finished in Signature Red, it was equipped with the Competition Package, which includes the aggressive rear wing, racing style seats, and additional downforce. In addition to the Competition Package, this is one of very few naturally aspirated S7s with the racing-style Triple Y headers. Angus Mitchell’s collection manager, Noel Romeo, notes hearing that the car was shipped all over the world for show appearances and other promotional uses including the 2012 Los Angeles and 2014 Beijing Auto Shows. Mr. Saleen eventually sold the car to Angus Mitchell for his noted collection, and at that time signed one of the doors. As Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Saleen were friends, there was an agreement that the car would be supplied as necessary for further promotions, which occurred occasionally during its years in the collection.

According to Mr. Romeo, the car was recently serviced and fitted with a new clutch and properly tuned, in preparation for continued driving. Complete with a bottle of Paul Mitchell shampoo, it remains in beautiful overall condition, with the attention to detail typical of the Mitchell collection’s automobiles. Showing just over 3,655 miles at the time of cataloguing, it has an outstanding provenance that surely no other available S7 can claim.